Sasuke and the Fullmetal Alchemist
by BLUEanimeGIRL025
Summary: Edward Elric discovers a new gate to a different world.... Where the heck have he and Alphonse ended up this time? The worlds of Naruto & FMA clash dramatically. There may or may not be yaoi involved later on in the story - as of yet it is still undecided
1. Alchemists in Konoha

_**Disclaimer:**__ As it just so happens, I do not own either Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist._

_**A/N: **__So suddenly I find myself interested in Fullmetal Alchemist again. And I've been tempted to rewrite this story for a while now anyway. It was my first real successful piece on this website, but it's been a while since I've even looked at it, and eventually I just gave up._

_Re-reading the story I had published so long ago, I found so many mistakes that I just wanted to smack myself (really hard) for letting it stay posted up on the internet for so long. It would almost be criminal __**not**__ to be rewriting it._

_So, anyway, if you read the last version of it, and enjoyed it, please read this one for my sanity's sake. Or, if you're completely new to the story and have no idea what I'm talking about, just read and enjoy =)_

* * *

It was late. The soft glow of the full moon beat down upon him mockingly, almost as if it were not soft at all. Clearly visible in the night was Sasuke Uchiha's pale form, standing exhausted amongst the trees of the dense forest outside of Konoha. Breathing hard, he paused for a moment in what he was doing. This night, like many others before it, Sasuke had stayed out long after sunset, training his body and mind.

Sasuke had set clever traps for unsuspecting animals (completely harmless though, of course), had thrown choice weapons at small, precise targets, such as individual leaves on a tree or bush. His latest training method - or at least, the method that he was using tonight - was to throw so accurately while standing upside down from a tree branch. It wasn't nearly as difficult as one would think, but fun somehow, and it was practice all the same.

Sasuke was also very much aware of his little audience tonight. He hadn't once glanced their way, but he knew that someone was hiding in the trees, watching him. He could feel their eyes on his back, like a person would feel if they had a spotlight thrown on them. However, the two who were watching - for there were only two - obviously weren't ninja, and if they were, they weren't very good ones. It was as if they weren't even bothering to conceal themselves. Their breathing and footsteps were loud, and they even whispered quietly to one another, thinking that Sasuke wouldn't hear. Sasuke knew that at least no ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village would be so careless.

Without looking in the direction of the two hiding in the brush, Sasuke took a long drink from his canteen, and, simultaneously and almost carelessly, threw a kunai in the direction of said audience. To his amusement, he heard a short, startled shriek from the two's hiding place. "You can come out now," Sasuke said once he finally put down his canteen. Silently he peeled off his sweat-soaked shirt. It was annoying the way clothing clung to his body once he started training.

The leaves of a bush rustled noisily as a boy, about Sasuke's age from the looks of him, pushed his way into Sasuke's view. The guy winced and grumbled beneath his breath as he got snagged by tree limbs and thorns and bush snarls. Definitely not a ninja.

The guy was wearing some of the strangest clothes that Sasuke had ever seen - a crimson red coat, and underneath an outfit of complete black. And white gloves, even in the heat of the night in the forest. "You don't gotta be so rude about it," the boy snapped in a loud voice that sounded like it was used to complaining. Apparently Sasuke had made him angry. It was then that Sasuke saw, with approval, that the kunai he had thrown had managed to snip off about half the guy's ponytail. _He needed a cut anyway,_ he thought with a smirk.

The boy "hmphed" as he shook his hair loose from it's ponytail, and began to braid. "Looks like I'll have to get used to wearing it the old way," he commented, tossing the short braid over his shoulder. As he spoke, another boy stumbled his way into view. He looked too much like the first guy for Sasuke to be able to tell them apart easily, but he seemed a little younger anyway, if not much shorter. This one seemed to have less attitude than the first. He had an honest looking face.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked as he eyed the younger one. That one had his hair up in a ponytail too, like the first one had before Sasuke snipped it. It was the same exact color of golden brown. His clothes were identical to the other guy's too, even down to the white gloves.

Suddenly, a grin bloomed on the older one's face. "Edward Elric," he answered proudly, pointing a thumb at himself. "The Fullmetal Alchemist. And this here is my brother, Al. We're uh... kind of lost." His grin didn't slip as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

Sasuke hadn't understood what the guy had said about metal. He'd caught their names though. Edward, and Al. The younger one, Al, bowed apologetically then. "Sorry if we're causing you any trouble, but we _are _lost. Do you think you could show us the way to the nearest town?"

Sasuke studied the two for a moment. Edward, the older guy, looked like an arrogant prick, but he seemed harmless enough. His brother just looked _nice_. Sasuke shrugged. "Sure," he replied, throwing his damp shirt over his shoulder. "I'll take you to the Leaf Village." Forget asking why they were lost. He didn't really care what they were doing or where they were headed. Sasuke was ready to go home and get a few hours of sleep before sunrise.

"Thank you," Al said, bowing again.

* * *

As they walked, the two guys trailing Sasuke seemed to feel the need to fill the silence with conversation. Most people felt that need, Sasuke reminded himself, even as he felt slightly annoyed - yeah, most people except for him. Lucky for him that the two strangers were saving most of their breath for maneuvering through the forest rather than on idle talking. Of course, Sasuke didn't have to walk - even so, he had no trouble finding his way through the trees and around the plants and tall grass. If it weren't for the two behind him holding him up, he'd be back in the village in no time. But as it was, it didn't look like there was any way Edward and Al could fly through the treetops like Sasuke could.

"Hey," Edward panted, catching up with him a little. "You never told us your name." He struggled to walk at Sasuke's side, but was apparently bewildered at how Sasuke managed to walk so effortlessly while he himself continued to grow tired and out of breath. His brother, still trailing behind them, didn't seem to be in much better shape.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he replied shortly. He didn't _feel_ like talking with these two, he just wanted to get back home now.

The younger brother had apparently heard, because after a moment he called, "Thank you for showing us the way, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke shrugged, not caring if the boy could see the gesture. "Hey," Edward said again, still breathing heavily. He looked like he was starting to sweat through his coat. Sasuke wondered why he didn't just take it off already. "Isn't there like a... path or a road or something around here?"

Feeling the strain on his nerves, Sasuke didn't particularly care about being generous. "Can't handle a few trees?" he asked smoothly. He hadn't really meant for it to sound so snide, but Sasuke Uchiha was just not a people-person.

Edward grinned. "Nah, this is nothin'. Once you've walked through the desert as much as me and Al have, other places don't seem so bad in comparison." He paused to catch his breath, and smacked a bush out of the way with his arm. He was starting to get frustrated with the forest scenery, Sasuke could tell. "It's pretty hot out here though."

Sasuke gave a heavy sigh and headed in the direction of the road back to Konoha. At least it would be faster traveling than this - he didn't have enough patience in his body to keep up with the slow pace of these travelers. After a few minutes, they did reach the road, and as Sasuke had feared, the lack of having to struggle so hard through the trees gave the boys more incentive to talk. "So, we were watching you a minute ago..." Edward started. "What was that you were doing? Hanging upside down from trees? How'd you do that?"

"Ed," Al hissed. "That's rude."

Sasuke glanced back at the two of them. "Chakra control," he said, his brow furrowed. Most ordinary people, the ones who didn't attend the Ninja Academy, didn't understand the functions of chakra control, but they still had seen that ninja could do such things. People new that ninja could walk up walls if they wanted, even if they didn't understand why. Despite himself, Sasuke asked, "Where are you from?" He watched from over his shoulder as Ed and Al shared a look. Then Edward looked back at him with another grin, rubbing the back of his head again. "Kind of hard to say," the boy said with a little laugh.

"...I see."

Behind his back, Edward and Al shared another look, one that spoke volumes.

"You two aren't ninja," Sasuke noted, glancing over his shoulder at them.

"Ninja?" Edward demanded with an incredulous sort of laugh. "No way! We're alchemists." He jabbed a thumb at his own chest.

"Al...chemists?" Sasuke asked, tasting the word. He'd never heard of any such thing.

"Yeah," Edward sighed, but then he changed the subject. "So, where are we anyway?" Edward asked. "What's the name of this town you're taking us to?"

"Konoha. The Hidden Leaf Village. How did you get so far out here not knowing where you were?" The two of them must have taken it as a rhetorical question, because neither of them answered.

* * *

It was late, and the soft glow of the full moon filled Hokage Tsunade's office with light. The candles spread out on the desk in front of her had been giving her a headache, so she'd blown them all out. It hurt her eyes too much to read and work by that kind of light. Still, it wasn't as if she had much more of a choice. She was the Hokage, after all. She had things to do, and the sun was unmerciful towards this fact, seeing as it still went down at the same time every single day. _I can't believe I actually agreed to do this, _she thought with a weary sigh. She rubbed her temple again, knowing full well that it wouldn't help with the headache. She was starting to wish that she hadn't told Shizune to go on home and get some sleep. How many hours ago had that been? Two? Three? Maybe she should just sneak off and go home, too. Leave the work for in the morning.

Tsunade didn't realize that she had dozed off until a sudden important-sounding knock came at the door, and she jerked awake. One of the papers she had been working on was now stuck to her face from sweat. It had been hot out lately. Slightly annoyed at herself, and even more annoyed at whoever was interrupting her at this time of the night, she pulled the paper from her face and barked, "Come in!"

A wide-eyed ninja (whose name she was probably supposed to know but at the moment couldn't remember) stepped into the room. It wasn't until the door opened that Tsunade began to hear the ruckus going on outside, just a room away from her office. Boys shouting. They had barged in on her for this? "Uh... I apologize, Hokage-sama. It's just... well, we found Sasuke Uchiha and some strangers fighting in the middle of the village and... well it took a lot of us to pull them apart, and we didn't know what to do with them so..."

Tsunade cut him off. "So you brought them to me?" she demanded, feeling an angry vein beginning to pulse on her forehead. Or maybe that was just the headache. Through clenched teeth she said, "Bring them in."

It was surprising how many ninja filed into her office then - four of them on each boy, though _one_ of the strangers at least, looked as if he wasn't putting up much of a fight. Sasuke, on the other hand, and the other unfamiliar boy were seemingly doing everything they could to get at each others throats. Sasuke had a nasty cut on his forehead, and they were both already pretty bruised up. As the three boys were forced into the room, Tsunade could feel her temper rising. "I'll kill you!" that golden haired boy was screaming, with his limbs flailing around in the air as he tried to get away from the men holding him back.

Sasuke, a vein on his own forehead throbbing, crossed his arms and didn't fight the ninja who had a hold on him. He looked darkly away from the stranger and said, "I'd like to see you try."

"Enough of this!" Tsunade ordered, slamming her hands down on the table as she stood. Silence followed for just a second, and then the stranger who had been yelling at Sasuke demanded bluntly, "And who is this old bat?"

Tsunade snapped.

Calmly, with an annoyed smile on her face, she sat back down in her seat, and ever so politely asked the ninja gathered 'round if they would leave the room. She wondered what they heard after the door shut behind them - whispers would go around the entire village come morning, with rumors about how two strange boys along with Sasuke Uchiha had been taken into the Hokage's office and then relentlessly beaten black and blue.

"Now," she said business-like when she was finished with the three of them. The quiet stranger she hadn't roughed up too bad, but she had made sure too throw in an extra punch or two toward the other. Sasuke should know better than fighting in the village, so she'd given him a few little somethings to think about as well. For the most part, the one quiet stranger stayed in the back, cringing at the beating given to Sasuke and the other. Smart boy. "What is all this about?"

Sasuke and the stranger - both standing before her with their heads bowed, sulking like children - both looked up and opened their mouths to speak at once. She interrupted them before either of them had the chance. "Ah. I wasn't asking you. I was asking him." She gestured to the boy still standing a little way behind the other two - he seemed to be trying to stay out of sight. Tsunade smiled sweetly at him, but all things considered it probably just scared him. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Uh...uh... I'm Alphonse." He stepped up next to the other boy, and for the first time she really noticed the similarities between them. They must be brothers. "I'm sorry ma'am," he said with a short bow. He didn't seem to know how to act around her. "My brother's a little headstrong." As she had thought - brothers.

"Don't worry yourself about it," she told Alphonse. "You say this boy is your brother? Where do you two come from; why are you here in Konoha?" Perhaps she should have started by asking one question at a time, but she was far too tired for such small details. She wanted answers and she wanted them now so that she could go home and go to bed. Damn the paperwork, she'd leave it for tomorrow - just as she did every night at around this time.

"Uh...." Alphonse hesitated, and looked over at his brother. His brother looked back, but they said nothing. "Sorry, but I can't really say."

"...And why not?" She arched an eyebrow at him. Taken aback by her tone and expression, the boy began vehemently bowing and apologizing. "That's enough," she said after a minute, stopping him at once. "Well if you can't tell me where you're from, at least tell me why you're here."

"Uh... well, you see..." he shared another look with his brother. Then the words began pouring out of his mouth, while little sweat drops began forming on his head. The boy used his hands a lot while he was speaking, gesturing and showing his palms as if to say that he was innocent. "We got lost, and found Sasuke-san in the woods. He brought us here, because we asked him where the nearest village was. And I guess you want to know why they were fighting. Well, when we got to the village, Sasuke-san tried to leave us there on our own, but we weren't sure what to do or where to go and Edward tried to stop him. Then uhh, Sasuke-san said he was going home, Edward wanted to know where we were supposed to go and Sasuke-san said he didn't care, and... well...." Alphonse's voice faded quieter and quieter throughout his speech until finally he trailed off.

"I see," Tsunade said in an idle tone. "So what were you boys doing wandering around out in the forest at this time of night?"

"But I already told you," Alphonse spoke up, looking confused. "We were lost."

The other boy, Alphonse's brother, caught on to what she was asking for. "We... we don't know why we're here okay?" She gazed at him in surprise. "One minute we were just here, wandering around lost in the woods. That's all." He kept his head down, not meeting her eyes. His voice was all soft and rough edges - he seemed suddenly emotionally disturbed by something. Her easy, probing questions had hit a nerve.

"I'm not sure if I should believe that story or not," the Hokage said quietly, after a moment of thought. "Sasuke, what is your take on all this? Have they said anything... unusual?" She was grasping at straws here, looking for any kind of slip up. There had to be some reason why these boys were in Konoha. The guy, Edward, was lying about his amnesia, she was sure of it.

Sasuke hesitated, thinking. He looked like he wasn't sure what to say. "They said they were..." He seemed to be searching for a certain word, unable to grasp it.

"Alchemists," Edward said, sounding slightly annoyed. "We're _alchemists. _And I'm a State Alchemist, from Central." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an unusual looking... something, but suddenly Tsunade wasn't paying attention.

"Alchemists?" she asked, her voice carrying all tones of surprise. She stood, and her chair toppled over behind her, but she didn't notice. "But how can that be?"

It was silent while she thought, her eyes glued to the desk as if searching for something. She just couldn't believe it. An _alchemist _in Konoha, after 100 years?

"You know what... this... alchemy is?" Sasuke asked after a moment. Of course he wouldn't use the honorific title of "Hokage-sama" when referring to her. He and Naruto Uzumaki were too close, even if they were rivals - the only thing Naruto would call her by was "old hag" or some such, and Sasuke unconsciously sometimes caught on to some of Naruto's bad habits.

She heard Edward make a small sound of disgust in the back of his throat, and Tsunade looked up at him. "There was an alchemist here before. Once. His name was Hoenheim."

The two strange blonde boys took on equal looks of surprise, and Edward stepped forward, his eyes shining with a strange intensity. "What do you know about Hoenheim?" he asked, and he sounded desperate though his voice was firm. When she did not answer right away, he preceded with a loud, "Tell me, dammit!"

"Edward!" his brother hissed.

The Hokage shook her head in silence, and turned to the moonlit window. "Look boys, I don't know much. It was just a story I heard a long time ago - about a man named Hoenheim who claimed that he was from another world. He used his chakra in strange ways and called it 'alchemy.' He mentioned these half-human creatures and was obsessed with a certain sort of stone...." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the story of her childhood. It had fascinated her when she was little. By now, considering Tsunade's age, it'd been _over_ a hundred years since the day that "alchemist" had supposedly come to Konoha. Slowly, she turned back around to face the two surprise-stricken boys. "So tell me Edward, and Alphonse. What do _you _two know of Hoenheim?"

* * *

_**A/N: **__Holy shit. -_-' This is the first four chapters of the original story compacted into one. I can't believe I actually wrote a story that awful and kept it online for so long. Well, at least it was based on a nice little plot, so I guess it'll be alright._


	2. Death Is Indiscriminate

_**Disclaimer: **__No ownage, except for the story. Mmhm, the story is mine. _

_**A/N: **__I warn you, I was too lazy for grammar check. I'll do it later - promise._

* * *

Three chairs had been brought in for the three boys to sit in. Suddenly, the atmosphere had fallen suddenly heavy - or at least, that was how it felt to Edward. Everyone was quite now, the Hokage in thought, Sasuke in curiosity, and the Elric brothers... lost in memory. Edward had also been provided with a blanket, because a moment before, he'd complained of it being cold. There was no rousing him from his own thoughts. He was lost, submerged in what seemed a lifetime of loss and failure.

"_Hoenheim... is my- our father," he whispered, head down._

_The blonde woman's eyes widened as she took that in. "But... you're just a boy. You're both just boys. Hoenheim was here over a hundred years ago. How is that possible?" _

_"A hundred years ago?!" Al exclaimed, but really, Edward wasn't surprised. After everything he'd been through... nothing should surprise him anymore. At the mention of his father, he felt as if his world has suddenly been turned upside-down._

_"I... don't know," he said, in response to that woman's questions (she still hadn't told them her name yet, although, Edward recalled someone calling her "Hokage" at some point). "Time must be different in this world..." he whispered, too low for anyone but Alphonse to hear. He balled his hands up into tight fists at his side._

_"Brother...."_

_The blonde woman - Hokage? - slammed her hands down onto the desk. "Where is Hoenheim now?" she demanded in a hard voice._

_"He... died." Yes, Hoenheim, his father, had died. Edward remembered as clearly as if it had been just moments ago; falling to his knees while his father's blood came down like rain._

_The Hokage stood in stunned silence. "I'm sorry to hear that," she whispered, but she sounded more shocked than sorry._

_"Yeah..." Edward replied in a voice just as low. "Yeah... me too." For some reason, he could feel his eyes becoming damp. Why should he cry? He hadn't even really liked the man that much. In fact, he'd spent most of his life trying to hate him. Still... Edward was haunted by the look that had been on Hoenheim's face just before he died._

_"How did he die?" the woman asked, her voice still breathy from surprise._

_Edward closed his eyes tight for a moment, then looked up at her. Golden eyes met shining golden eyes. "I don't really wanna talk about it," Edward said firmly. He had already blinked away the small amount of tears. "I'm sick of thinking about him."_

And now as Edward closed his eyes, he could see the dead faces of all the people he'd known. The people who had died in front of his eyes, the ones he'd killed himself, and especially the ones that he'd _let_ die.

------

He was at the Rockbell's place, and a tiny Winry was sobbing with her head down on the kitchen table. _"My parents are dead - they can't _ever _come back!"_

------

Ed and Al were laughing. They'd just come back from town, and were running with little baskets of fruit in their arms. "Hello mom!" Ed called happily as he and his brother rushed in through the kitchen door of their house. And there she was, lying there face down on the floor, beautiful brown hair cascading softly over her slightly sweating face. Her eyes were closed.

"_Do your mother a favor and transmute something for me. Yes, I know. A ring of flowers would be nice. You see... your father... always used to make them for me...."_

Edward had stood there in that silence, his tiny hand grasped in hers, as one last sigh escaped his mother's lips. The life had left her eyes, and her hand fell limp.

------

Back in the Hokage's office, Edward pulled the blanket a little tighter about his shoulders, but there was no helping the cold that had suddenly taken him over. He didn't want to talk about death anymore, or think about those that had died. He'd seen it too many times, and, though he respected the dead, he did not want to miss them anymore. They continued to haunt and hurt him, and he supposed it was retribution for all the things that he had done. So many things he could have prevented, so much _good_ he could have done with his life.... But sometimes, Edward just wished that his past would leave him alone.

In that moment, Edward wished that he had never picked up that first alchemy book.

"Brother?" Alphonse whispered, lightly touching Edward's arm. "Are you alright?"

Edward glanced up at his brother. Ah. What was wrong with him? Edward knew that it did no good to think about the past, and this was a reason why. The past was unchangeable, and there was far too much about the present to think about, as it was. He was only making Alphonse worry now.

And so, Edward smiled, a touch of relief on his face. It was true that so many people he had known were now dead, some of them even because of him, but still... Edward was thankful for all the people who were still alive. Even if he knew that he would never be able to see some of them again - Winry was safe, and so was Mustang, and all the others in the military. And most of all, Al was safe. They'd come so far together, had experienced so much and learned so much from the world _together_. Edward had done everything he could to keep his brother alive, and to get him his body back. In the end, they still had each other, and that was all that mattered.

"Yeah, I'm fine Al. You don't have to worry."

After a moment, Al smiled too, though his brow was still creased lightly. He had to have understood, this was just Edward being Edward. Sometimes, it felt like the two brothers could almost just read each other's minds. "That's good," he aid with a little sigh of relief.

"So," Tsunade said, coming back into the office. (Yes, Edward had finally learned her name by now - he'd asked that guy Sasuke while she was out of the room.) She'd left for a moment to get a cup of coffee from the next room over - apparently she'd given up on the thought that she might get to go home soon. Besides, she seemed strangely fascinated by alchemy for some reason. Her eyes lit up strangely at every mention of it. "It seems that we've found... something unusual that we... sort of have in common. We know who you are now, _if_ you are who you say you are... but we still don't really know why you're here."

The woman sat at her desk with a heavy sigh. "Earlier when you said that you couldn't really say, I let it pass. But I'm afraid I have to ask you again. Mind to tell me?" She eyes the boys mercilessly - the Hokage had a cold, commanding stare, and Alphonse, for one, was humbled when it came to such things. "Um...!" he started, but then Edward interrupted him.

"It's alright Al," he said quietly with a smile. "I'll try." His eyes hardened, as he silently turned back to the Hokage woman. Now... how was the best way to go about this? "You say that my father came here, claiming to be from another world. Tell me, Tsunade, do you believe that's true?"

She shrugged a little, but held his gaze. "How could I even guess? The man was here a hundred years ago, and that was _before _my time - no matter how old Naruto believes I am...." She grimaced and rubbed her temple at that, almost as if she were angry.

"What?" Edward asked, slightly confused.

"Never mind, it's nothing." She sighed again. "So. Edward. Are you standing here trying to tell me that you're from another world?"

Edward sat back in his chair and slipped his hands into his pockets, laughing lightly. "Yeah. I know how crazy it sounds, believe me. but Al and I are actually from _two_ other worlds." Tsunade looked... somewhat dubious, but at the same time, there was an intensity in her eyes - she was interested in what he was saying, and wanted to know more. Except that _this _was where things got complicated. "See, there's this gate. When you die, you see it. The gate to other worlds." He shared a quick sidelong glance with his brother. "But Al and I destroyed that gate. So I really have no idea how we ended up _here_."

It... really made no sense at all. Edward could feel his brow creased in frustration. For he and Al to have come to another world... _again_.... "Al," he said seriously, turning fully to his brother. "Did we... die?"

He could tell, Alphonse was worried too. He must have been thinking the same thing. "N-no.... No. Of course we didn't die brother. We couldn't have. Not _again_."

Al had always been the typical younger brother. He had seen just as many horrors as Edward had, and he'd gone through nearly every experience that Edward had. And yet... Alphonse had somehow managed to keep his child-like innocence, his modesty, his honest eyes.... He was not dense, or simple, but he was type of kid you would find in an ordinary village, with an ordinary life, as a farmer, or something funny like that. Alphonse never should have been involved in this life either. Edward... never should have dragged him into it like that. Honestly, what kind of person was he - to drag his little brother down?

He was selfish; that was what he was. Edward was very, very selfish. His brother was the only one he really had left, and so he'd allowed him to follow him around across countries, and now even worlds. Everything bad that had happened to Alphonse, since the day that their mother had died, had been all Edward's fault. Yeah, he was just starting to realize that. He was finally letting it sink in - how much damage he had caused. Why was he left with such regret?

At the moment Al was in denial. He didn't want to believe that he and Edward had died again - he didn't want to think that they were going to have to learn the ways of another world, _again_. But Edward could see no other fitting explanation. "Alphonse, I don't understand. If we didn't die, then why are we here...? Apparently there's another gate, and it looks like we're just going to have to destroy this one too. But how did we even cross it in the first place? Do you remember it at all?"

Alphonse shook his head stubbornly, eyes shut tight for a moment. "No, brother. I don't remember seeing a gate! I mean, we... didn't die. How could we?"

"Think, Alphonse," Ed pressed. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Al shook his head again, less violently this time. "I don't want to think... if we did die, I don't want to remember it...."

Edward reached out, and touched his brother's arm lightly. "I've tired thinking about it Al, and I _can't_ remember. Anything. So try, please." It was true. The last thing Ed remembered was walking through those trees, with Al. They'd met Sasuke, and ended up here. That was all. Where had they been before that? How had they gotten here?

Everything was quiet inside the office for a long time. Sasuke was watching them as if he were very confused, and Tsunade was leaned forward over her desk, lips pursed slightly as if she had been absorbed by their conversation. Edward paid no attention to them. He watched his brother's eyes, as they gazed down at the floor. It was so silent, Ed thought he could almost hear the sound of a clock ticking inside his head.

Suddenly, Al's eyes grew wide, and cleared. He looked up at first, and then turned his head to stare directly into Edward's face, horror clinging to his facial features. "I remember," he choked out softly. "I remember...."

* * *

_Exactly one year had passed, since the day that Edward and Al had finally destroyed the gate between worlds. Exactly one whole year, since the day the two brothers' lives had been changed forever. It was not a happy day, by any means. It brought about too many painful memories - the death of the other Al; Alfons Heiderich, and of their father, and of leaving their true home behind forever...._

_Ed was walking the streets of town, head down, reminiscing, even more than usual. He walked like this often. It was the only way he ever really got out of that apartment he and Al shared. Sometimes, it felt like the walls were closing in on them. Sometimes, Edward just had to get out. You know, after all that he had gone through in his life, one would think that a peaceful life would be something that Edward would wish for. (Or, at least in this world, it was peaceful compared to back home). But Edward missed the excitement, the traveling, the adventure._

"_Hey! Edward!" A group of guys he knew were sitting nearby, having a drink. He grinned at them, waved shortly, and walked near them. "Still living with that brother of yours?" one asked with a warm smile._

"_Heh. Yeah."_

"_Funny how he just showed up so suddenly," another commented. "Most of us didn't even know you had a brother, 'till he showed up here. Jeez, I guess that was a while back wasn't it?"_

_Another laughed, and playfully punched that one on the arm. "Yeah, that was _ages _ago. Where've you been?"_

"_Haha...."_

"_Bet you're glad that gypsy woman's gone," another one of the guys commented with a sly grin. He took another long drink from his glass - obviously, he'd already had far too much. People usually knew that topic was pretty much taboo around Edward, even if he did know they all were thinking the same thing about it._

_Silence had fallen over the little group, and all the other guys glanced nervously back and fourth between the drunk friend and Edward. "I've told you before not to talk about her that way," Ed hissed, his temper flaring dangerously. He hated having this conversation with people. "No matter who she was, Noah was still a human being."_

_One of the other so-called friends sighed heavily. Ed knew that man was going to say something else he didn't like. Well, good. If they were thinking it, they should say it. "Ed... she was a gypsy, a no-good thief. Then the stupid girl went and killed herself. How can you still protect her after that?"_

_A cold shiver ran up Edward's arm, but not from anger this time. Just bitter sadness. More bad memories._

_Two months before, Edward had come home one day to find Noah in the kitchen floor of their apartment, one of their steak knives protruding from her chest. Even with Ed, Al, and Gracia for support, Noah had decided to kill herself regardless. She'd wanted... so much more from life. Had it really been Edward's fault? Could he really have given her what she wanted? She'd been unhappy for weeks, sometimes it'd made her so sick she couldn't even get out of bed. At one point, Gracia had temporarily moved in with them to take care of her. Edward had watched, standing arms crossed in Noah's bedroom doorway._

_When he'd found her, that day, there had been so much blood.... He and Al were still looking for another apartment, although, they could barely afford the one they already had._

"_Shut up," Edward muttered curtly, and with that, he walked away. There was no stopping people from talking that way. Their thinking was, the death of a gypsy just meant one gypsy less in the world. But to Edward.... He'd really grown attached to Noah. Before she'd become depressed, she'd been so happy and smiling all the time. She'd taken care of Edward and Al, like a mother. And she'd been warm, like a mother. She'd woken them up in the mornings, and learned how to cook from Gracia for them, and reminded them of all the little things they'd always forget. Now, she was gone forever. Just like all the other people he'd killed._

_Edward walked right out of town. He did this sometimes. A few miles out, the grass was green and the trees were tall. He liked to lay there, beneath the branches, staring upward to the sky. Cars hardly passed, so it was for the most part quiet, and peaceful. Edward could think, and fret, and worry as much as he wanted, with no interruptions, and without having to worry about upsetting his brother or Gracia._

_He heard the sound of a car pull up, and paid no attention, even when it slowed. Then, the car horn beeped lightly, and Ed sat up, surprised. There was his brother, sitting in the front seat and smiling at him. Alphonse gestured for him to get in. "I thought I'd find you here," the younger brother commented once Edward was close enough. Ed hopped into the passenger's seat next to him. "I figured you'd be out of the house a lot today. You're so predicable brother."_

_Edward laughed. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or what."_

_It was quiet between them for a little while, and Ed lost himself in thought again for a moment. He glanced over at his brother then to see that Alphonse was frowning, and already glancing at _him_. "What is it?" Edward asked._

_Al grimaced. "I've been thinking, brother. You've been acting... strange lately. You're always frowning, and you can't sit still.... You hardly come back to the apartment, even for supper." He paused, eyes on the road._

"_What's your point?" Ed asked quietly._

"_...Well, it just seems like... you're always thinking about bad things. Unhappy things. You don't ever smile anymore. I'm worried about you. If you think about it too much... you might...." Alphonse bit his lip, worry swimming in his unfocused eyes._

_Oh. Edward got it now. With a gentle smile, Ed reached out to lightly ruffle his younger brother's hair. "Don't worry about it Alphonse," he told him quietly. "What happened to Noah... won't happen to me. I promise."_

_They were in town now. Some people waved as they drove past, and the two brothers waved back. "Brother," Al finally spoke again. "I'm glad that you-"_

"_Al, watch out!"_

_Really, it was like it was bound to happen. They were in town, driving too fast, lost in conversation. Neither of them had really been paying any attention to where they were going. They were almost back to the apartment already, and a small cat had run out into the road in front of them. Edward's heart wouldn't have pounded like that - had Gracie not run into the road to save the animal. Al, acting on impulse, swerved sharply and suddenly to the right. The side of the car clipped the woman, their friend, and knocked her to the ground. Edward caught only a short glimpse of the brick wall before the car crashed into it. The last thing he felt was the sensation of flying forward out of his seat._


End file.
